And the Kick-Off Winner Is . . . ?!

Hey writers,

After gobbling up mobsters, distopian doctors, cracked families and even old ghosts, it’s time for the results of the Promptly Kick-Off Breaking-Block Challenge. Even though I was frequently overtaken by interrobang-like feelings (?!) of indecision, I won’t go into the usual long-winded rant about how difficult it was to pick a winner.

Or how I lavish special props on my heroes who entered all three prompts, some of whom even tied them together in incredibly cool ways.

Or how we loved how everyone took the prompts and spread them out in their own directions and genres.

Or, simply, how appreciative I am to everyone who participated, and how I hope they’ll stick around for more stories.

In the end, longtime WD editor/online guru Brian A. Klems and I selected Patricia A. Hawkenson’s* “Hedge Fund” and its lively, weighted lines as our favorite entry. For winning, she’ll lay claim to a stack of swag containing The Whatchamacallit: Those Everyday Objects You Just Can’t Name (And Things You Think You Know About, But Don’t), Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling, a copy of Writer’s Digest’s new Novel Writing magazine, and a one-year subscription or renewal to WD magazine.

From now on, our favorite-story swag will be dolled out on a monthly schedule. So don’t stop writing. Ever.

Thanks again to everyone who jumped into the challenge, and see you all tomorrow with a new prompt.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

*Patricia, please send an e-mail to writersdigest [at] fwmedia [dot] com marked "Attn: Zachary Petit," so I can get the goods shipped out to you!